Rugby Confidential: Melbourne Rebels prop Fereti Sa’aga revealed as star musician
MEET Australian rugby’s Liberace. A 126kg front row monster with fingers as light as a feather. Fereti Sa’aga recently wowed onlookers when he jumped on a grand piano in the middle of Melbourne’s CDB.
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MEET Melbourne rugby’s piano man. A 126kg front row monster with fingers as light as a feather.
Fereti Sa’aga wowed onlookers in the middle of Melbourne’s CDB this week when he revealed his silky skills on a grand piano, with several onlookers stopping to take video.
Sa’aga, 23, will come off the bench for the Rebels in their crucial Australian conference match against the Waratahs at AAMI Park on Friday night, but in his downtime relaxes by tickling the ivories.
“I started playing the piano at primary school, did all the lessons and it has just stayed with me all the way through,’ Sa’aga said.
“It’s something that’s kind of stayed with me, even when I started playing rugby.
WATCH FERETI’S BEAUTIFUL TALENT ON DISPLAY IN THE PLAYER ABOVE
“I’d probably say that there’s a lot of different styles of music influences me. I like playing a lot of the pop songs and putting that classic feel on it.
“We went up to Ballarat for our pre-season camp in January and they had a piano in the same room where we had all our meals at our hotel. Only a few boys knew that I played, but I guess they all found out by the end of that performance.
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“I played at our Test luncheon a few weeks back. It’s just a nice release away from the busy life of footy and family and kids, it’s easy to lose myself a bit when I’m playing.”
BEAST GIVES ROOKIE A BAD BREAK
ROOKIE Waratah Maclean Jones paid a high price for trying to tackle giant winger Taqele Naiyaravoro at training this week.
Jones broke his arm attempting to stop the 124kg beast, and has been ruled out for the rest of the year.
Jones, 22, is a promising backrower and would have played a big role for Warringah in their late charge for a Shute Shield title, but will take an extended break to heal his shattered arm in the hopes of returning stronger in 2019.
Meanwhile, Jones’ Warringah teammate Harry Jones had a secret trial with AFL’s Sydney Swans under-16s squad as he mulled a possible code switch, but we hear he’s sticking with rugby.
FROM ONE BUBBLE TO ANOTHER
HE’S been a northern beaches man all his life, but Wallabies and Waratahs captain Michael Hooper is moving east.
Hooper is purchasing a luxury home near Centennial Park with his partner Kate Howard, and will be moving in the next two months.
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It will certainly save Hooper hours in driving to Waratahs training, with their new training base at Daceyville.
Hooper has been crossing the Harbour Bridge to get to Tahs training from his home in Fairlight.
The Manly product has always enjoyed the northern beaches lifestyle, but his move will bring him closer to NSW teammates, many who reside in the east.
Hooper is expected to sign a long-term deal with the Wallabies and Waratahs within weeks.
Teammate Bernard Foley is also expected to re-sign, for either one or two years, with both announcements expected to be made before the opening Bledisloe Cup match on August 18.
WELL DESERVED, LEGEND!
HAVING just been forced to retire from professional rugby after being allegedly coward-punched, James Stannard has landed a job as assistant coach of Australia’s women’s sevens team.
Stannard will help head coach John Manenti to prepare the Olympic champions for their world series and gold medal campaigns.
It is a great coup for the Aussie sevens scene, as Stannard is one of the sharpest minds in the game, but it certainly isn’t a charity job given his predicament.
Stannard was actually in talks with Manenti at the start of the year about taking on coaching, well before the alleged attack in March that left him with a fractured skull and continuing headaches and dizzy spells.
Stannard will also help with sevens high performance in developing the next generation of young male players as part of a wide-ranging role with Rugby Australia.
WILL CHEIK HOOK TAF?
WALLABIES coach Michael Cheika will have an interesting selection dilemma for the Bledisloe Cup in the contentious hooking position.
Tatafu Polota-Nau will return, but as part of his contract with Leicester, he’ll only be available for opening two matches against the All Blacks before heading back to England.
The experienced Polota-Nau seems to be the obvious choice to start at No.2, but Cheika must decide whether he uses him for just those two games and then revert to the players he used in the June Test series against Ireland, Brandon Paenga-Amosa and Tolu Latu.
Both impressed and will be used throughout The Rugby Championship.
Latu is close to signing a contract extension with the Waratahs and played a huge final 40 minutes in last Saturday’s 20-16 loss.
NRL TARGETS SEVENS STARS
CHARLOTTE Caslick is not the only rugby player on the hit list for the NRL’s new women’s competition.
More than a dozen players who’ve represented NSW, Queensland and junior Australian rugby sides have been approached by the NRL women’s teams in the past week.
The four-team league competition features the Roosters, Broncos, Dragons and Warriors, and they’re all reaching out to rugby players - many who are supposed to feature in this year’s Uni Women’s Sevens tournament but will be ruled out if they sign with NRL teams.
Nita Maynard is being pursued by the Roosters, who along with the Dragons are also talking to Eva Karpani.
The threat from the NRL comes as sevens Chloe Dalton and Brooke Walker have walked away to take up offers from AFLW club Carlton.
RUGBY SEVENS HOLDING ITS OWN
NOT to be outdone by rival codes, rugby will hold round four of the women’s Sydney sevens club competition on Saturday.
A record 16 teams will play at Boronia Park in Hunters Hill, including the newly-formed North Cronulla Sea Lice, Eastwood and Parramatta.
“Players now have a clear development pathway in both XVs and sevens,” NSW Rugby female development officer, Caitlin Aquilina, said.
“Competitions such as these certainly lift the profile of the game and we will continue to look at more ways to grow and develop the sport.”
Originally published as Rugby Confidential: Melbourne Rebels prop Fereti Sa’aga revealed as star musician
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